The accomplisht cook, or The art and mystery of cookery.: Wherein the whole art is revealed in a more easie and perfect method, then hath been publisht in any language. Expert and ready wayes for the dressing of all sorts of flesh, fowl, and fish; the raising of pastes; the best directions for all manner of kickshaws, and the most poinant sauces; with the tearms of carving and sewing. An exact account of all dishes for the season; with other a la mode curiosities. Together with the lively illustrations of such necessary figures as are referred to practice. / Approved by the fifty years experience and industry of Robert May, in his attendance on several persons of honour.

Section 5.

The best way of making all manner of Sallets.

To make a grand Sallet of divers Compounds.

TAke a cold roast capon and cut it into thin slices square and small, (or any other rost meat, as chick∣en, mutton, veal, or neats tongue) mingle with it a little minced taragon and an onion; then mince lettice as small as the capon, mingle all together, and lay it in the middle of a clean scowred dish. Then lay capers by themselves, olives by themselves, samphire by it self, broom-buds, pickled mushrooms, pickled oysters, lemon, orange, raisins, almonds, blew figs, Virginia Potato, ca∣perons, crucifex pease, and the like, more or less, as occa∣sion serves, lay them by themselves in the dish round the meat in partitions. Then garnish the dish sides with quar∣ters of oranges and lemons, or in slices, oyl and vinegar beaten together, and poured on it over all.

On fish dayes, a roast, broild, or boild pike, boned, and be∣ing cold, slice it as abovesaid.

Another way for a grand Sallet

TAke the buds of all good sallets herbs, capers, dates, raisins, almonds, currans, figs, orangado. Then first of all lay it in a large dish, the herbs being finely picked

and washed, swing them in a clean napkin; then lay the other materials round the dish, and amongst the herbs some of all the foresaid fruits, some fine sugar, and on the top slic't lemon, and eggs scarce hard cut in halves, and laid round the side of the dish, and scrape sugar over all; or you may lay every fruit in partitions several.

Otherwayes.

Dish first round the center slic't figs, then currans, ca∣pers, almonds, and raisins together; next heyond that, olives, beets, cabbidge-lettice, cucumbers, or slic't lemon carved; then oyl and vinegar beaten together, the best oyl you can get, and sugar or none, as you please; garnish the brims of the dish with orangado, slic't lemon jagged, olives stuck with slic't almonds, sugar or none.

Another grand Sallet.

TAke all manner of knots of buds of sallet herbs, buds of potherbs, or any green herbs, as sage, mint, balm, burnet, violet leaves, red coleworts streaked of divers fine colours, lettice, any flowers, blanched almonds, blew figs, raisins of the sun, currans, capers, olives: then dish the sallet in a heap or pile, being mixt with some of the fruits, and all finely washed and swung in a napkin, then about the center lay first slic't figs, next capers and currans, then almonds and raisins, next olives, and lastly either jagged beets, jagged lemons, jagged cucumber, or cabbidge let∣tice in quarters, good oyl and wine vinegar, sugar or none.

Otherwayes.

The youngest and smallest leaves of spinage, the smallest also of sorrel, well washed currans, and red beets round the center being finely carved, oyl and vinegar, and the dish garnished with lemon and beets.

Other grand Sallet.

TAke green purslan and pick it leaf by leaf, wash it and swing it in a napkin, then being dished in a fair clean dish, and finely piled up in a heap in the midst of it, lay round about the center of the sallet pickled capers, cur∣rans, and raisins of the sun, washed, picked, mingled, and laid round it; about them some carved cucumbers, in slices or halves, and laid round also. Then garnish the dish brims with burrage or clove-jelly-flowers. Or other∣wayes with jagged cucumber-peels, olives, capers, and rai∣sins of the sun, then the best sallet oyl and wine vinegar.

Other grand Sallet.

ALL sorts of good herbs, the little leaves of red sage, the smallest leaves of sorrel, and the leaves of parsley picked very small, the youngest and smallest leaves of spinage, some leaves of burnet, the smallest leaves of lettice, white endive and charvel all finely picked, washed, and swung in a strayner or clean napkin, and well drained from the water; then dish it in a clean scowred dish, and about the center, capers, currans, olives, lemons carved and slic't, boild beet roots carved and slic't, and dished round also, with good oyl and vinegar.

A grand Sallet otherwayes.

TAke corn sallet, rampons, ellicksander-buds, pickled mushrooms, and make a sallet of them; then lay the corn sallet through the middle of the dish from side to side, and on the other side rampons, then ellicksander buds, and in the other four quarters mushrooms, salt over all, and put good oyl and vinegar to it.

Other grand Sallet.

TAke the tenderest, smallest, and youngest ellicksander∣buds, and small Sallet or young lettice mingled toge∣ther being washed and picked, with some capers. Pile it or lay it flat in the dish, first lay about the center olives, ca∣pers, currans, and about those carved oranges and lemons, or in a cross partition wayes, and salt, run oyl and vinegar over all.

Otherwayes.

Boild parsnips in quarters laid round in the dish, and in the midst some small sallet, or water-cresses finely washed and picked, on the water-cresses some little small lettice finely picked and washed also, then some ellicksander-buds in halves, and some in quarters, and between the quarters of the parsnips some small lettice, some water-cresses, and el∣licksander-buds, oyl and vinegar, and round the dish some slices of parnsnips.

Another grand Sallet.

TAke small sallet of all good sallet herbs, then mince some white cabbidge leaves, or striked coleworts, min∣gle them amongst the small sallet, or some lilly-flowers slit with a pin; then first lay some minced cabbidge in a clean scowred dish, and the minced fallet round about it; then some well washed and picked capers, currans, olives, or none; then about the rest, a round of boild red beets, oran∣ges or lemons carved. For the garnish of the brim of the dish, boild collyflowers, carved lemons, beets, and capers.

BEing finely picked short, well soaked in clean water, and swung dry, dish it round in a fine clean dish, with capers and currans about it, carved lemon and orange round that, and eggs upon the center not boild too hard, and parted in halves, then oyl and vinegar; over all scra∣ping sugar, and trim the brim of the dish.

A grand Sallet of Ellicksander-buds.

TAke large ellicksander-buds, and boil them in fair water after they be cleansed and washed, but first let the water boil, then put them in, and being boild, drain them on a dish bottom, or in a cullender; then have boild capers and cur∣rans and lay them in the midst of a clean scowred dish, the buds parted in two with a sharp knife, and laid round about upright, or one half on one side, and the other against it on the other side, so also carved lemon, scrape on sugar, and serve it with good oyl and wine vinegar.

Other grand Sallet of Water-cresses.

BEing finely picked, washed, and laid in the middle of a clean dish, with slic't oranges and lemons finely carved one against the other, in partitions, or round the dish, with some ellick sander-buds boild or raw, currans, capers, oyl, and vinegar, sugar, or none.

A grand Sallet of picked Capers.

PIcked capers and currans bashed and boild together, dished in the middle of a clean dish, with red beets boild and jagg'd, and dished round the capers and currans, as also jagg'd lemon, and serve it with oyl and vinegar.

To pickle Samphire, Broom-buds, Kitkeys, Crucifex Pease, Purslane, or the like.

TAke samphire, and pick the branches from the dead leaves or straws, then lay it in a pot or barrel, and make a strong brine of white or bay salt, in the boiling scum it clean; being boild and cold put it to the samphire, cover it and keep it for all the year, and when you have any occasion to use it, take and boil it in fair water, but first let the water boil before you put it in, being boild and be∣come green, let it cool, then take it out of the water, and put it in a little bain or double viol with a broad mouth, put strong wine vinegar to it, close it up close and keep it.

Otherwayes.

Put samphire in a brass pot that will contain it, and put to it as much wine vinegar as water, but no salt; set it over a charcoal fire, cover it close, and boil it till it become green, then put it up in a barrel with wine vinegar, close on the head, and keep it for use.

To pickle Cucumbers.

PIckle them with salt, vinegar, whole pepper, dill-seed, some of the stalks cut, charnel, fair water, and some sicamore leaves, and barrel them up close in a barrel.

Pickled Quinces the best wayes.

• 1. TAke Quinces not cored nor pared, boil them in fair water not too tender, and put them up in a barrel, fill it up with their liquor, and close on the head.
• 2. Pare them and boil them with white wine, whole

• cloves, cinamon, and slic't ginger, barrel them up and keep them.
• 3. In the juyce of sweet apples, not cored, but wiped, and put up raw.
• 4. In white wine barrelled up raw.
• 5. Being pared and cored, boil them up in sweet wort and sugar, keep them in a glazed pipkin close covered.
• 6. Core them and save the cores, cut some of the crab quinces, and boil them after the quinces be parboild and taken up; then boil the cores, and some of the crab quinces in quarters, the liquor being boild, strain it thorow a strainer, put it in the barrel with the quinces, and close up the barrel.

To pickle Lemons.

BOil them in water and salt, and put them up with white wine.

To pickle any kinde of Flowers:

PUt them into a gally-pot or double glass, with as much sugar as they weigh; fill them up with wine vinegar; to a pint of vinegar a pound of sugar, and a pound of flowers; so keep them for sallets or boild meats in a double glass co∣vered over with a blade and leather.

To pickle Grapes, Gooseberries, Barberries, red and white Currans.

PIck them and put them in the juyce of crab-cherries, grape verjuyce, or other verjuyce, and then barrel them up.

To Candy Flowers for Sallets, as Violets, Cowslips, Clovegel∣ly-flowers, Roses, Primroses, Burrage, Bugloss, &c.

TAke weight for weight of sugar-candy, or double refi∣ned sugar, being beaten fine, searsed, and put in a silver dish with rosewater, set them over a charcoal fire, and stir them with a silver spoon till they be candied, or boil them in a candy sirrup height in a dish or skillet, keep them in a dry place for your use, and when you use them for sallets put a little wine vinegar to them and dish them.

For the compounding and candying the foresaid pickled and candied Sallets.

THough they may be served simply of themselves, and are both good and dainty, yet for better curiosity and the finer ordering of a table, you may thus use them.

First, if you would set forth a red flower that you know or have seen, you shall take the pot of preserved gilly∣flowers, and suiting the colours answerable to the flower, you shall proportion it forth, and lay the shape of a flower with a purslane stalk, make the stalk of the flower, and the dimensions of the leaves and branches with thin slices of cucumbers, make the leaves in true proportion jagged or otherwayes, and thus you may set forth some blown, some in the bud, and some half blown, which will be very pretty and curious; if yellow, set it forth with cowslips or prim∣roses; if blew, take violets or burrage: and thus of any flowers.